[Image: Gencraft /AI]
Stephen King has openly declared his disinterest in submitting a ballot for this year’s Academy Awards, instead urging the event’s complete cancellation as Los Angeles remains engulfed in the apocalyptic inferno of relentless wildfires.
With lives and landscapes reduced to ash, King’s statement casts a shadow over the glittering facade of Hollywood, questioning the morality of celebration amid the devastation.
On Blue Sky, King wrote, “Not voting in the Oscars this year. IMHO they should cancel them. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire.”
Not voting in the Oscars this year. IMHO they should cancel them. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire.
— Stephen King (@stephenking.bsky.social) January 15, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Similarly, Hacks star Jean Smart touched on the dissonance between the ongoing fires and Hollywood’s awards season, saying:
“I hope any of the networks television the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to victims of the fires and the firefighters,” she wrote.
The Rolling Stone reports that the flames consuming LA have already forced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to adjust its plans. The announcement of this year’s nominees, originally set for today, January 17, has been delayed until next Thursday, January 23. The Academy has also scrapped its annual luncheon, previously scheduled for February 10, and contributed $750,000 to the Motion Picture and Television Fund to assist those devastated by the inferno.
Yet, despite the growing chaos, the Oscars — still slated for March 2 — are unlikely to be cancelled. Academy CEO Bill Kramer, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, insisted that the show “must go forward to support our film community and to use our global platform to bring attention to these critical moments in our history.”
Kramer added that this year’s ceremony will feature “special moments acknowledging those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”
He added: “The spirit of Los Angeles and our film community has always been one of resilience, and the Oscars represent not just a celebration of film, but the industry’s strength and unity in the face of adversity.”
The words ring with resolve, yet some question whether the glamour of the red carpet can coexist with the smoke-choked skies of a city on fire.
With the fires still raging and a city teetering on the edge, attention is also shifting to the 2025 Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 2. While some industry events have already been cancelled and others repurposed into relief efforts, the main show remains on track to proceed as planned.
The decision casts a stark contrast: a night of music and celebration against the backdrop of a city choking on ash and despair.
[Source: Rolling Stone]
